fMi'sd, 


TDrci  m  Christa 

f^i'saior^uv 


It )o'P- 


AN  APPEAL 

>  FOR 

World=Wide  Evangelism 

M 

For  nearly  nineteen  centuries  the  vast  majority  of  the 
populations  of  the  globe  have  waited  in  vain  for  the  gos¬ 
pel  of  redemption  which  was  committed  to  the  Christian 
Church.  It  was  said  most  truthfully  by  the  late  Earl  of 
Shaftesbury,  that  “the  gospel  might  have  been  pro¬ 
claimed  to  all  nations  a  dozen  times  over  if  the  Christian 
Church  had  been  faithful  to  her  trust."  It  is  appalling 
to  think  that  sixty  generations  of  the  unevangelized 
heathen  world  have  perished  in  darkness  since  our  Lord 
established  and  commissioned  His  Church  as  a  living 
and  aggressive  force  in  the  world.  And  of  all  the  gen¬ 
erations  ours  is  the  most  guilty  in  proportion  to  its 
greater  opportunities.  We  call  upon  all  who  love  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  to  pray  with  all  earnestness  that  the 
closing  years  of  our  century  may  be  years  of  special  har¬ 
vest.  In  some  mission  fields  it  is  already  demonstrated 
that  by  the  Spirit  of  God  thousands  may  be  gathered 
where  there  have  only  been  hundreds  or  scores.  Let 
us  “  ask  great  things  of  God  and  expect  great  things 
from  God.” 

No  age  has  compared  with  the  present  in  the  facility 
with  which  the  populations  of  distant  countries  can  be 
reached;  or  in  the  personal  safety  under  which  Christ’s 
ambassadors  may  prosecute  their  work;  or  in  the  ap- 

1 


proachableness  and  cordiality  of  tlie  people;  or  in  the 
materials  ready  at  hand  to  convey  the  message  of  salva¬ 
tion  in  an  unknown  tongue.  The  heart  of  India,  Africa, 
and  China  are  more  rapidly  reached  than  was  the  centre 
of  our  own  continent  a  hundred  years  ago.  A  whole 
century  of  preparation  has  established  the  principles, 
furnished  the  appliances,  and  perfected  the  organization 
for  a  movement  enlisting  the  whole  Church  of  Christ. 

The  Whole  Bible  a  Missionary  Volume. 

A> 

We  earnestly  call  upon  every  Christian  to  reex¬ 
amine  the  Word  of  God  and  see  how  every  portion  of 
it  from  Genesis  to  Revelation  is  instinct  with  the 
spirit  of  missions.  It  is  a  field  book  of  universal  con¬ 
quest.  The  redemptory  work  of  Christ,  like  a  bow  of 
heavenly  promise,  over-arches  all  its  sacred  records. 
The  “promised  seed  of  the  woman”  at  the  beginning 
appears  again  in  its  closing  Revelation  as  the  Lamb 
slain  from  the  foundation  of  the  world.”  Its  Alpha  and 
Omega  include  the  whole  alphabet  of  redemption.  All 
prophesy  and  all  types  point  to  the  one  sacrifice  offered 
once  for  all,  with  a  reversionary  as  well  as  a  prospective 
efficacy,  and  embracing  the  ages.  The  promise  to  Abra¬ 
ham  that  in  him  should  all  nations  be  blessed,  found  its 
counterpart  in  John’s  vision  of  the  redeemed  “  of  all  na¬ 
tions,  and  kindreds,  and  peoples,  and  tongues,  standing 
before  the  throne  and  before  the  Lamb.  1  he  Gospel 
of  Christ  even  as  proclaimed  in  the  Old  Testament  was 
not  for  any  one  age  or  for  any  one  race.  In  the  Coun¬ 
cils  of  Eternity  it  was  said  to  the  world’s  Messiah,  It 
is  a  light  thing  that  thou  shouldst  be  my  servant  to  raise 
up  the  tribes  of  Jacob,  and  to  restore  the  preserved  of 
Israel:  I  will  also  give  thee  for  a  light  to  the  Gentiles 
that  thou  mayest  be  my  salvation  unto  the  end  of  the 
earth.” 


2 


Not  only  is  Christ  the  Divine  intercessor  now  ;  hut  He 
has  always  interceded.  An  eternal  covenant  is  based 
upon  His  plea  :  “  Thou  art  my  Son  ;  this  day  have  I  be¬ 
gotten  Thee.  Ask  of  Me,  and  I  shall  give  thee  the 
heathen  for  thine  inheritance  and  the  uttermost  parts 
of  the  earth  for  thy  possession."  The  decrees  of  God 
make  the  conversion  of  the  world  as  certain  as  His 
throne  !  The  gospels  are  simply  a  history  of  Divine  ful¬ 
fillments  ;  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  are  a  continuous 
missionary  record  ;  the  Epistles  are  missionary  letters 
addressed  to  infant  churches,  and  John  in  his  prophetic 
vision  anticipating  the  final  triumph  of  the  gospel  de¬ 
clares  "The  kingdoms  of  this  world  are  become  the 
kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of  His  Christ.” 

But  the  most  striking  bond  which  identifies  the  work 
of  missions  with  Redemption,  is  seen  in  the  Divine 
commission  of  the  Apostle  to  the  Gentiles.  The  com¬ 
mission  given  to  Paul  (Acts  xxvi :  18)  followed  almost 
the  exact  terms  of  Christ’s  own  commission  recorded  in 
Isaiah  xlii :  <>,  7,  and  lxi :  1.  In  the  Synagogue  of  Naz¬ 
areth,  Christ  read  these  prophetic  words  as  the  creden¬ 
tials  of  Plis  great  mission  to  an  apostate  world.  The 
word  of  God  assures  the  work  of  God.  All  power  is 
pledged  to  this  triumph.  All  wisdom  is  concentrated 
on  this  problem.  If,  therefore,  the  Scriptural  founda¬ 
tion  of  missions  has  been  more  or  less  overlooked,  while 
this  great  cause  has  been  looked  upon  as  only  a  devel¬ 
opment  of  nineteenth  century  enterprise;  if  our  inspir¬ 
ation  has  been  drawn  mainly  from  heroic  examples  of 
self-sacrifice  or  of  distinguished  success,  let  us  repent 
of  our  error  and  turn  back  to  the  Word  of  God  for  its 
Divine  prompting  and  its  promise  of  omnipotent  help. 

Oup  Marching  Orders. 

The  command  of  our  Lord  to  publish  the  Crospel  to 
all  the  world  is  clear  and  explicit  and  admits  of  no  cotn- 

3 


promise.  His  Great  Commission  was  given  on  four 
different  occasions  and  in  four  different  forms;  First" 
To  His  cliosen  band  in  the  mountains  of  Galilee  came 
His  comprehensive  command,  “Go  teach  all  nations.” 
Second.  On  the  Mount  of  Olives,  immediately  before 
His  ascension.  He  demonstrated  to  His  church  the 
symmetry  and  proportions  of  her  great  mission  to  the 
nearer,  the  more  distant,  and  the  most  distant  fields 
alike,  and  all  to  be  undertaken  together.  Third.  Near 
Damascus  He  gave  a  commission  which  showed  not  to 
Paul  only,  but  to  the  whole  Church  that  her  errand  to 
the  Gentiles  is  uot  merely  that  of  a  higher  cultus  or  a 
better  civilization,  but  a  veritable  deliverance  from  dark¬ 
ness  unto  light,  and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God. 
Fourth.  His  command  was  given  to  Paul  in  a  vision  of 
the  night,  when  not  a  real  Macedonian  but  the  risen 
Christ  summoned  His  apostle  to  a  wider  sphere  among 
the  world-conquering  races  of  Pagan  Europe. 

No  Need  of  Discouragement. 

Possibly  many  in  the  Church  of  Christ  are  disheart¬ 
ened  by  those  obstacles  which  arise  in  connection  with 
the  mission  work.  But  have  not  obstacles  appeared  in 
every  stage  of  the  Christian  conquest  ?  What  discourage¬ 
ments  confronted  the  labors  of  the  Apostolic  Church, 
whose  greatest  successes  were  wrested  from  the  perse¬ 
cutions  which  scattered  abroad  the  disciples  as  chaff 
before  the  wind,  but  which  under  God  proved  rather  a 
seed-sowing  of  the  truth  far  and  near.  How  were  the 
churches  of  the  first  four  centuries  overwhelmed  by 
heathen  persecution  ? 

We  meet  obstacles  in  the  restrictive  measures  of  non- 
Christian  governments;  in  the  false  philosophies  of 
proud  old  systems;  in  the  disturbing  influences  of  false 
representatives  of  our  own  Christian  land  in  all  heathen 

4 


marts;  in  the  corrupting  contact  of  pernicious  com¬ 
merce  in  opium,  or  whiskey,  or  fire-arms;  in  the  prev¬ 
alence  of  Anglo-Saxon  vices  where  only  truth  and  right¬ 
eousness  should  he  disseminated;  in  the  over-reaching 
of  more  powerful  nations  against  the  weaker  tribes  and 
races;  in  unjust  legislation  and  the  abrogation  of  solemn 
treaties  ;  in  the  efforts  of  our  own  western  infidelity  to 
thwart  the  teachings  of  the  truth  wherever  missionaries 
have  proclaimed  it. 

But  what  are  all  these  obstacles  compared  with  those 
which  have  appeared  again  and  again  in  the  history  of 
the  Church?  What  have  we  to  compare  with  the  over¬ 
throw  of  the  sainted  Augustine  and  his  North  African 
Churches  by  Vandal  incursions?  If  all  our  difficulties 
and  discouragements  were  summed  up  together,  they 
would  not  equal  the  Hugenot  massacres  and  exiles,  and 
yet  that  fierce  persecution  sent  Christian  colonists  to 
many  lands.  In  the  British  Isles,  from  which  we  have 
sprung,  Christianity  was  once  well-nigh  extirpated  by 
our  own  savage  ancestors.  And  again  in  the  eighth  and 
ninth  centuries,  when  missionary  zeal  and  labor  had 
reestablished  the  truth,  it  was  almost  overwhelmed  bv 
the  incursions  of  the  Norsemen,  and  the  religious  in¬ 
stitutions  that  had  been  established  around  the  coast  of 
Ireland  and  Scotland  were  swept  as  with  the  besom  of 
destruction,  yet  what  hath  God  wrought  in  and  through 
the  British  Isles?  Shall  we  then  in  this  age,  with  all 
the  power  that  God  has  placed  at  our  disposal,  be  dis¬ 
couraged  and  lose  faith  or  relax  effort  on  account  of  the 
difficulties  that  arise  in  our  path?  If  the  truth  be  told 
one  obstacle  now  outweighs  all  others ;  it  is  found,  not  in 
outside  oppositions,  but  in  the  worldliness  and  apathy 
of  the  church  herself.  If  she  were  to  rise  up  to  the  full 
measure  of  her  power,  all  the  opposing  forces  of  earth 
and  hell  could  not  resist  her  triumphant  march. 


Missionary  Success  an  Earnest  of  Divine  Favor. 


There  is  no  sublitner  story  in  human  history  than 
that  which  sketches  the  majestic  march  of  the  Christian 
faith  from  Jerusalem  and  Judea  to  Arabia,  Egypt  and 
Africa,  to  Asia  Minor,  Greece  and  Italy,  and  through  the 
whole  Roman  Empire;  and  thence  northward  and  west¬ 
ward,  till  French  and  Spaniards,  English  and  Germans, 
Scandinavians  and  Sclavonians  were  enlightened  and 
modern  Europe  was  won  ;  and  thence  across  the  ocean 
to  the  New  World;  and  from  the  Old  World  and  the 
New  to  all  the  East  and  South  among  the  mighty  Pagan 
peoples  of  Asia  and  Africa  and  the  islands  of  the  sea. 
And  in  this  march  the  Church  has  simply  been  fulfilling 
the  great  prophecies  and  realizing  the  grand  promises 
of  Scripture.  The  foreign  missionary  work  of  our  day 
represents  the  later  stages  of  this  world-wide  move¬ 
ment,  and  is  as  clearly  under  the  inspiration  and  leader¬ 
ship  of  Jesus  Christ  as  the  work  of  Paul  in  Asia,  and  of 
James  in  Palestine.  Nothing  in  all  the  Christian  era  has 
given  a  greater  proof  of  God’s  favor  and  blessing  than 
the  success  of  this  closing  century.  In  the  first  hun¬ 
dred  years  after  Christ’s  ascension  only  about  five  hun¬ 
dred  thousand  nominal  Christians  received  the  faith. 
During  the  one  hundred  years  of  modern  missions  over 
three  millions  have  accepted  Christianity  as  the  true 
religion  and  have  been  converted  from  their  ancestral 
errors  to  the  faith  as  it  is  in  Jesus  Christ. 

The  conversion  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  the  New 
Hebrides,  the  Fiji  Islands,  the  Georgia  and  Friendly 
Islands,  Australia,  and  many  other  islands  of  the  sea, 
affords  the  clearest  evidence  of  God’s  favor.  They  are 
standing  miracles  of  blessing  and  success.  The  annual 
average  of  conversions  in  Africa  is  17,000  souls.  Fifty 
years  ago  there  were  but  six  Protestant  Christians  and 
two  native  helpers  in  China;  now  there  are  50,000  com- 

6 


muuicauts,  1,700  native  helpers,  and  18,000  youths  in 
Christian  schools.  Japan  has  35,000  professing  Christ¬ 
ians  won  in  twenty-two  years. 

India  is  experiencing  a  Pentecostal  outpouring.  In 
the  past  three  years  60,000  heathens  have  turned  from 
idols  to  Jesus  Christ  and  been  baptized  in  the  missions 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  The  North  India 
Conference  has  more  Sunday-school  scholars  than  any 
Conference  of  that  Church  in  the  United  States.  The 
great  work  of  the  Baptist  Missions  in  Telegu  during  the 
past  fifteen  years,  shows  the  blessing  of  a  wonder-work¬ 
ing  God. 

The  Bible  as  a  whole,  or  in  portions,  has  been  trans¬ 
lated  into  more  than  300  different  languages  or  dialects 

much  the  larger  part  of  this  work  having  been  done 
by  missionaries — so  that  probably  foup-fifths  of  the  un¬ 
evangelized  population  of  the  world  may  read  or  hear, 
in  their  own  tongue,  of  the  inspired  word  of  God. 

But  the  great  work  is  but  just  begun.  It  is  only  a 
score  of  years  since  Livingstone  ended  his  adventurous 
life  service  on  his  knees  near  Lake  Banguelo,  and  laid 
the  evangelization  of  Africa  upon  the  heart  of  the  Christ¬ 
ian  world.  Then  mission  stations  were  numerous  on 
the  coast,  but  there  were  scarcely  half  a  dozen  in  the 
interior.  During  this  brief  interval  Christian  mission¬ 
aries  have  pressed  toward  the  interior  of  the  continent 
from  the  north  and  the  south,  from  the  east  and  from 
the  west;  and  still  the  doors  of  opportunity  open  more 
rapidly  than  the  zeal  of  Christian  nations  can  enter  them. 


Our  Manifold  Obligations. 

We  beg  leave  to  present  in  briefest  form  some  of  the 
obligations  that  have  been  laid  upon  us  who  live  in  this 
age  of  the  world.  First  of  all  is  the  command  of  our 


blessed  Master,  accompanied  by  the  fact  of  His  own 
Divine  example  of  sacrifice  for  the  salvation  of  others. 

Second.  Our  obligation  to  those  early  missionaries 
who  bore  the  gospel  to  our  own  ancestors  who,  long 
after  New  Testament  times,  were  in  the  depths  of  bar¬ 
barism. 

Third.  Our  indebtedness  to  those  missionaries  and 
missionary  settlers  who  bore  the  gospel  to  this  conti¬ 
nent,  and  planted  those  religious  institutions  whose 
beneficent  influence  we  have  enjoyed  from  our  child¬ 
hood.  Freely  have  we  received;  let  us  freely  give. 

Fourth.  The  duty  which  rests  upon  us  to  follow  up 
the  noble  work  of  the  pioneers  of  modern  missions  who 
lived  down  the  opposition  of  a  worldly  Christian  sent¬ 
iment  at  home,  and  overcame  heathen  prejudice  abroad; 
who  translated  the  Word  of  God  into  hundreds  of  lan¬ 
guages,  and  laid  many  foundations  for  us  to  build  upon  ; 
and  many  of  whom  sealed  their  labors  with  their  lives 
in  fields  where  there  is  now  free  access. 

Fifth.  Ate  owe  a  debt  to  those  who  more  recently 
have  gone  from  our  owm  communities  and  churches,  and 
from  our  own  circles  of  kindred,  and  who  now  in  the 
heat  and  burden  of  the  day  demand  our  sympathy,  our 
prayers,  and  our  support.  To  follow  up  the  work  of  all 
these  is  now  easy.  We  have  the  opportunity,  the  facil¬ 
ities,  and  the  means.  How  can  we  excuse  ourselves  if 
we  selfishly  squander  our  lives  and  our  possessions  and 
die  with  this  accumulated  duty  unfilled? 

Union  Against  Unjust  Criticism. 

There  is  need  just  now  for  union  in  missions  as  a 
matter  of  common  defense.  It  is  an  age  which,  through 
various  forms  of  literature,  boldly  challenges  the  su¬ 
preme  claims  of  Christianity  in  its  doctrines,  teachings, 
and  its  work.  The  cause  of  foreign  missions  is  espe- 

8 


daily  liable  to  assailment,  as  it  is  far  off,  anil  therefore 
may  more  safely  be  made  the  subject  of  ignorant  rid¬ 
icule.  It  may  be  impossible  to  convince  the  outside 
world  that  such  representations  are  erroneous;  but  the 
whole  membership  of  the  churches  should  be  made  in¬ 
telligent  to  the  end  that  they  “  may  be  steadfast  and 
immovable,  always  abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord.” 

1  he  Disciples  of  Christ  now  number  nearly  a  million. 
They  are  among  the  most  intelligent  of  all  classes  of 
citizens.  They  are  moved  by  the  highest  principles,  and 
their  effort  for  the  evangelization  and  uplifting  of  all 
mankind  is  the  very  noblest  and  most  inspiring  of 
human  enterprises.  They  have  an  average  degree  of 
wealth  and  influence.  If  by  their  common  belief  and 
teachings,  their  harmony  of  plans  and  methods,  their 
union  in  such  forms  of  appeal  or  published  facts  and 
statements  as  shall  instruct  and  inspire  public  sentiment, 
these  great  masses  of  Christian  believers  can  be  led  to 
act  as  one  united  body,  there  will  be  presented  a  spec¬ 
tacle  of  Christian  union  and  a  volume  of  moral  earnest¬ 
ness  and  power  which  will  impress  the  nation  and  the 
world  with  the  Divine  reality  of  the  gospel. 

The  Final  Rally  of  the  Century. 

The  eternal  purpose  of  God  is  that  the  whole  world 
should  be  evangelized.  Thus  it  is  written,  that  the 
Christ  should  suffer,  and  rise  from  the  dead  on  the  third 
day,  and  that  repentance  and  remission  of  sins  should 
be  preached  in  His  name  among  all  nations.  We  have 
His  promise  that  every  valley  shall  be  filled;  and  every 
mountain  and  hill  shall  be  brought  low ;  and  the  crooked 
shall  become  straight ;  and  the  rough  ways  smooth  ; 
and  all  flesh  shall  see  the  salvation  of  God.  This  prom¬ 
ise  is  being  fulfilled.  Barriers  that  once  seemed  insu¬ 
perable  have  been  taken  out  of  the  way.  Doors  that 

y 


■were  closed  for  ceuturies  are  now  open.  Nations  that 
sat  in  darkness,  and  sullenly  and  stubbornly  rejected 
the  gospel  are  now  calling  for  it.  God  has  honored  us 
in  inviting  us  to  have  fellowship  with  himself  in  the 
accomplishment  of  this  grand  design.  We  are  doing 
something,  but  we  have  not  begun  to  put  forth  our 
strength.  We  are  playing  at  missions  while  a  thousand 
millions  are  stumbling  on  the  dark  mountains  and  going 
down  to  the  pit  with  none  to  deliver.  From  every  field 
the  cry  conies  for  more  men  and  more  means.  We 
ought  to  be  able  to  respond  with  something  better  than 
apologies  for  our  inability  to  supply  what  is  needed. 
We  must  increase  the  efficiency  of  those  in  the  field  by 
thoroughly  equipping  them  for  the  work.  We  must 
strengthen  their  hearts  and  hands  by  sending  them  the 
necessary  reinforcements.  We  are  able  to  do  tenfold 
more  than  we  are  doing.  Our  offerings  ought  to  in¬ 
crease  by  leaps  and  bounds,  and  not  by  the  slow  growth 
of  past  years.  This  is  the  hour  of  destiny;  this  is  the 
nick  of  time.  The  harvest  of  the  earth  is  over-ripe.  It 
is  for  us  to  cast  in  the  sickle  and  reap.  May  God  help 
us  to  act  up  to  the  full  measure  of  our  opportunities 
and  ability,  that  when  the  redeemed  out  of  every  nation 
and  tribe,  and  tongue  and  people  shall  cast  upon  the 
jasper  pavement  their  crowns  of  amaranth  and  gold,  we 
may  be  found  among  them  sharing  in  the  universal  joy. 


[Issued  by  the  Foreign  Christian  Missionary  Society,  Cincin¬ 
nati,  Ohio.  Oil?  y^nt  a  copy,  or  fifty  cents  a  hundred.] 


